Posted on Wed, Dec. 07, 2005
Legislature requires testing or consent to rule on
contamination
DAVID EGGERT
Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. - State environmental regulators could not mark a piece of land
as contaminated without testing it or getting the property owner to agree it's
tainted under legislation approved Wednesday by the Michigan Legislature.
The Senate voted 20-16 and the House 70-32 to pass the bill despite objections
that it would delay environmental cleanup and saddle the state with higher
expenses. The measure now heads to Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
The bill was introduced after the state Department of Environmental Quality told
homeowners along the Tittabawassee River in Midland and Saginaw counties that
their land was polluted with dioxin, a toxin, from the nearby Dow Chemical Co.
plant.
The DEQ tested the area but did not take samples from every single parcel,
drawing complaints from homeowners worried about their property values.
Sen. Mike Goschka, R-Brant, said the DEQ should not label a parcel as
contaminated without specific testing. The DEQ took soil samples throughout the
Tittabawassee flood plain but based some of its findings on inferences and
patterns.
"Before any governmental entity can simply walk in and take over, first a test
should be conducted," said Goschka, who added that many local community and
business groups support the legislation. "That is fair. That is due process for
the homeowner."
But Democrats and the DEQ - a part of the Granholm administration - criticized
the bill.
"It's creating the potential to slow down cleanups, increase the cost of
cleanups and potentially stop cleanups from happening," DEQ spokesman Bob McCann
said.
Under the legislation, if regulators do not test an individual parcel, they
still could mark it for cleanup - but only if the property owner agrees in
writing. The polluter then could contest the designation by testing the property
in a timely manner.
"That opens the door to (polluters) slowing the process down," McCann said. "We
have to stop everything until the dispute is resolved. What does 'timely manner'
mean? Weeks, months, years?"
About 1,000 homes near the Tittabawassee River have been designated for cleanup,
McCann said. In January, Dow Chemical and the state agreed to a series of steps
to address dioxin contamination. The toxin is linked to cancer, birth defects
and other health problems.
In the Senate, 19 Republicans and one Democrat - Jim Barcia of Bay City - voted
for the bill. Fourteen Democrats and two Republicans - Patty Birkholz of
Saugatuck and Tom George of Portage - voted against it. Buzz Thomas, D-Detroit,
and Shirley Johnson, R-Troy, were absent and did not vote.
In the House, 32 Democrats voted against the bill. Seven Democrats did not vote:
Carl Williams of Saginaw, Brenda Clack of Flint, Michael Murphy of Lansing, and
Marsha Cheeks, Lamar Lemmons III, Lamar Lemmons Jr. and Virgil Smith of Detroit.
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The pollution testing bill is House Bill 4617.
ON THE NET
Michigan Legislature:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawassee River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.